Archive for Philanthropist

Adam Milstein is an activist and philanthropist who believes the work he does is critical to training future leaders in the Jewish and Israeli-American communities. He explaine what parents should expect of their children that could help turn them into future leaders as virtues of courage, pride and creativity to be instilled in them. Milstein says courage is something the ancient group known as the Maccabees undertook knowing that they were outnumbered and didn’t have the open battlefield skills of their foes, but they had the will and bravery to fight them in different ways. Pride is something that Adam Milstein says will determine how strong future Jews value their identity, and it includes displays of Israel’s symbols and unconditional allegiance to the country. Creativity is something that’s been apparent not just in military prowess, but also in how people in the Jewish community have turned small businesses into big ones and have gained influence in many spheres.

Adam Milstein has had quite a storybook life from military service and victories in the Israeli Defense Forces, to working on construction sites and completing his vocational training at the Technion. Milstein also moved to Los Angeles and completed grad school there, and he said he chose to go into real estate because it was the kind of occupation that had flexibility and allowed him to take risks on the job. He and his colleagues David Hager and Robert Neal founded Hager Pacific Properties, a firm with billions of dollars in property holdings and a portfolio ranging across three different states.

Adam Milstein started putting in more efforts in philanthropy around 2000 when he and his wife Gila started their family foundation, and many organizations they are connected with include AIPAC and the Israeli-American Education Foundation, the Israeli-American Council, StandWithUs, the Anti-Defamation League West Coast Division, Hillel and its branches and Hasbara Fellowships. The foundation does seek to help Jewish college students organize campus activities and rallies geared towards promoting their ideology and their sister group Birthright Israel that former NBA owner Bruce Levenson contributes to sponsors summer trips to Israel for them. Milstein also meets with Jewish and American leaders for annual conferences at AIPAC and the IAC and has hosted meetings with political donors Haim Saban and Sheldon Adelson.

For more than 30 years, Betsy DeVos has dedicated her time and money to producing educational change. DeVos has worked tirelessly to help form a nation where every child has the ability to receive a quality education. Along with her family, DeVos has made a tremendous impact on the educational system. She recently spoke with Philanthropy Roundtable to share some insight into why she is so passionate about this cause.

DeVos recalls an event that took place when she was a young mother that was a catalyst for much of her philanthropy. Visiting the Potter’s House Christian School in Grand Rapids, Michigan, DeVos became very inspired. DeVos witnessed many children who came from families that were working hard just to get by. The dedication of their parents to give their kids a quality education was quite moving to DeVos. Over the years she would visit the Potter’s House many time and chose to help several students with tuition assistance. Follow Betsy on Twitter

DeVos was making an impact but she had a great desire to do much more. Along with her family, she began to seek out ways to make even more change. Her husband got involved by being elected to the State Board of Education in Michigan. Betsy herself decided to begin a scholarship fun to help even more children receive a quality education. DeVos also began working with a number of charitable organizations. Two groups in particular were quite notable. DeVos worked with Children First America and the American Education Reform Council. Both of these groups focused on vouchers to help produce more educational choices. DeVos’s worked in Florida on a tax-credit scholarship program. As a result of this program Florida had the nations longest period of broad educational choice.

Today Betsy DeVos has a position that allows her to produce more change than ever before. DeVos currently is the U.S. secretary of education. This position is the pinnacle of a career dedicated to a common cause. As a child DeVos watched her mother work as a public school teacher. Feeling inspired she would eventually mentor at risk students as a young adult. She spent more than a decade doing this work. Before her current position DeVos worked as as chairman of The Windquest Group, investment management firm. She has worked in partnership with Kids Hope USA, and Mars Hill Bible Church. All of this experience and work has helped to prepare DeVos for her current and important role as secretary of education. Her track record is evidence that she is passionate about what she does and will be dedicated to the cause. Visit dbdvfoundation.org to know more about their foundation.

The founder of the Knowledge to Action group, Greg Secker, doubles up as an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and master in trade among others. He was born on February 18th, 1975. Relating his past and childhood with partial boredom and opportunity, he worked for a large asset management bank and just after returning from the United States, he had time to concentrate on his business.

Greg says that he wanted to be an inspiration to people and therefore started to teach and motivate them by sharing the ideas that he had. This turned from just mere inspiration to a deep passion, rather obsession, and after thorough analyzation of the market, he realized that there was a lot of misrepresentation of the truth and inadequate teaching systems. With this in mind, Greg Secker came to realize that those who underwent mentorship and training were more productive than the ones who were not trained.

Secker, in 2003, founded the Knowledge to Action group which is inclusive of several other companies amongst them; Learn to Trade, Smart Charts Software, Capital Index, and FX Capital among others. This is evidence that Greg is passionate and committed to better other people’s lives through training, education, and support.

Background Information

Greg Secker is a well known English business man currently residing in London, United Kingdom, with interests ranging from fitness, coffee, and sports. He came into the lime light for his international education of financial trading and prowess in foreign exchange. He is a graduate of the University of Nottingham where he studied Agricultural and Food Sciences.

Secker has three children. He began as a trading technologist in the mid-1990s at Thomas Cook Financial Services, and in 1998 he got an award for innovation in e-commerce. He became Vice President at Mellon Financial Co-operation at the age of 25 years and later retired in 2003 to pursue forex trade.

Secker is also known for several books that he has published, including Trading Your Way to Success and Freedom Through Forex among others. Being the CEO and founder of the Greg Secker Foundation which is a non-profit organization, he has been able to contribute to the improvement of sectors like education in addition to enhancing leadership and life skills in communities. He is actually among those in the list of “200 Most Influential Philanthropists and Social Entrepreneurs” for 2017!